BASEBALL

BASEBALL; Mets and Henderson Are Closing In on Deal

By JASON DIAMOS

Published: December 12, 1998

NASHVILLE, Dec. 11—
General Manager Steve Phillips of the Mets is not scheduled to arrive at the winter meetings, the first in major league baseball since 1992, until Saturday morning.

But by Saturday evening, Phillips could finally have Rickey Henderson signed, most likely to a one-year deal with an option for a second. And Kevin Brown could be signed by someone else for six years or more.

Phillips is scheduled to meet with Henderson's representatives at the spacious -- and chaotic -- Opryland Hotel shortly after his arrival here. When asked today if Henderson could come to an agreement with the Mets by Saturday, one of Henderson's agents, Dan Horwits, replied, ''We might be able to.''

If so, the Mets might be able to fill their needs for an everyday left fielder and leadoff hitter.

In an interesting twist, the 39-year-old Tony Phillips, who played left field and batted leadoff for the Mets for the final two months of last season, agreed today to a one-year deal with the Oakland Athletics, the team for which he played the first eight seasons of his 18-year career and for whom Henderson stole a major league high 66 bases last season.

The A's had been interested in re-signing Henderson, who turns 40 in two weeks, but once they chose not to offer him salary arbitration, they lost the right to negotiate with him until May 1.

The Seattle Mariners had also expressed interest in Henderson, but that apparently evaporated before these meetings. Manager Lou Piniella said today that Seattle had expressed interest in Yankee left fielder Chad Curtis.

All of which leaves the Mets as Henderson's only suitor. Earlier this week, Steve Phillips offered him a one-year contract in the neighborhood of $1.7 million with performance bonuses and an option for a second year that would automatically kick in if Henderson meets certain requirements.

When Horwits was asked today if Henderson was amenable to playing for the Mets, the agent said, ''Absolutely.''

He may have no other choice. That is not the case for Brown or Roger Clemens.

''I can't see how we can leave here without a deal being done,'' Toronto General Manager Gord Ash said in reference to Clemens, the five-time Cy Young Award winner who has demanded a trade from Toronto.

Ash said that five teams were still in the running and that nothing had changed from Thursday. The five teams are believed to be Houston, Texas, the Yankees, Anaheim and Cleveland.

And although the Yankees are considered a long shot, their owner George Steinbrenner has reversed his position and ordered his general manager, Brian Cashman, to be here either late Saturday night or Sunday morning.

As for Brown, his agent, Scott Boras, said tonight that he had already met with four teams and had two more meetings scheduled tonight and two others Saturday morning.

''I would say that we certainly had enough conversations that we're very close to making a decision,'' Boras said. ''It could come together as soon as tomorrow, certainly by Sunday. And the clubs that are still in the negotiations are all offering six years.''

The Los Angeles Dodgers, the Baltimore Orioles, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Colorado Rockies are believed to be competing for the 33-year-old right-hander. And Kevin Towers, the San Diego general manager, said tonight that he was doing all he could to re-sign Brown, even though Brown would apparently like to sign for the highest average annual amount in baseball, somewhere around $14 million.

Aside from Phillips going to Oakland, the only other move today saw the Cincinnati Reds sign the left-hander Steve Avery to a one-year deal for $1.5 million, with another million in performance bonuses.

With the newly acquired Denny Neagle and Avery, the Reds have obtained two former Atlanta Braves left-handers for their starting rotation.

Avery, 10-7 for the Boston Red Sox last year, was happy to be back in the National League.

''I like hitting and I like the National League cities,'' he said. ''That's not a knock on the American League, but I think if you're a pitcher, you like the National, and if you're a hitter, you like the American.''